Pay off reel for wire or the like



' July 26, 1960 Filed Dec. 6. 1956 G. H. FROELICH PAY OFF REEL FOR WIREOR '-I'HE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 26, 1960 cs. H. FRoELlcH PAY oFFREEL ma wma 0R THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6. 1956 July 26,1960 G. H. FRoELlcH PAY OFF REEL FOR WIRE OR THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed DeC. 6. 19.56

coNTRoL RELAY INVENTOR. GUSTA VEl H. PROEL/CH United States Patent PAYOFF REEL FOR WIRE 0R THE LIKE Gustave H. Froelich, Torrington, Conn.,assignor to The Torrington Manufacturing Company, Torrington, Conn., acorporation of Connecticut Filed Dec. 6, 1956, Ser. No. 626,773

8 Claims. (Cl. 242-428) This invention Irelates to a pay oli reel forwire or the like and, more specically, to an idle pay off reel fwhich isrotated by the mill or other device using the wire and pulling it fromthe reel.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a pay off reel ofthe aforementioned ,type which is adapted to support a coiled bundle ofWire or the like and to pay off the wire freely so as to minimizetangling or snagging of the convolutions in the bundle and whichincorporate means for applying regulated tension to the wire being payedoff and which also includes means for stopping operation of the mill orother device using the wire and ,for braking the reel in the event thewire breaks or becomes tangled or the mill or other device is stoppedsuddenly and ceases to pull wire from the reel.

The drawings show a preferred embodiment of the invention and suchembodiment `will be described, but it Iwill be understood that variouschanges may be made from the construction disclosed, and that thedrawings and description are not to be construed as defining or limitingthe scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of thisspecification being relied upon -for that purpose.

Of the drawings,

Fig 1 is an elevational view partly in vertical section of the pay olfreel;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the reel with parts shown in horizontal sectionto illustrate details;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the bracket supporting a pivoted arm and apotentiometer, all forming a .part of the means for control-ling brakeforce and wire tension;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the aforesaid elements of thetension control means in exploded relationship, and

Fig. 5 is a wiring diagram showing the electrical arrangement of thetension control means and brake mechanisrn employed in the reel.

As shown in Fig. l of the drawings, the presently preferred embodimentof a pay off reel constructed in accordance with the present inventionincludes a frame which com-prises a base and a plurality of spaced apartlegs 12, -12 which extend upwardly and inwardly from the base. The saidbase and legs are preferably formed integrally as a single casting whichalso includes a pair of axially spaced apart vertical sleeves 14 and 16,the said sleeves bein-g provided to support anti-friction bearing units18 and 20 surrounding a rotatable vertical shaft Z2. The said verticalshaft projects upwardly from the base 10 and the legs 12, 12 and theupwardly projecting portion of the shaft supports a unitary reelstructure which includes an annular coil basket 24 and a snubbing orcapstan drum 26. Thus, it will be observed that the reel per secomprises means rotatably mounted on a base and adapted to support a.coiled bundle of wire or the like. As previously mentioned, the reel isof the non-driven type, which means that it is rotated only when wire ispulled from the bundle which it supports. As will be more fullydescribedy hereinafter, elecof wire in the coil, theV likelihood oftangling orbindirg 2 trically operable brake structure is mounted on thebase 10 and operatively associated with the shaft 22 to ,retard rotationthereof whereby to apply a selected or regulated tension to wire beingpulled from the reel.

The reel per se comprising the coil basket 24 and the capstan drum 26has a generally cylindrical wall 28 .which provides the inner wall ofthe annular coil basket 24 and the cylindrical wall of the capstan drum26 below the .coil basket. =In addition to the inner wall 28, the coilbasket has a radially extending bottom wall 30, a generally verticallyextending outer wall 32 and a top wall or flange 34 which is formedintegrally with the said outer wall and projects radially inwardlytherefrom but in spaced relationship to the said inner wall. The top ofthe generally cylindrical wall 28 of the reel is closed by a wall 36which has a centrally located boss 38 provided'with a suitable recess toreceive the projecting top end of the rotatable shaft 22. A pair o-fscrews 40, 40 extend from the bossg38 into the end of the shaft 22lwhereby to secure the reel to the shaft `for rotation therewith. Thebottom end of the cylindrical wall 28 or the bottom end of the capstandrum is also closed by a plate-or wall 42 having a portion which extendsradially outwardly from the wall 28 and having a centrally located boss44- which is provided with a bore to receive t-he shaft 22.

The wire is loaded in the coil basket 24 in a coiled bundle B which isinserted through the annular opening between the inner wall 28 of thebasket and the top flange 34. After the bundle is placed in the basket,a cover 46 is detachably secured to the topv wall 36 of the reel by anysuitable means such as the fastening devices 48, v48. It should beobserved that the cover 46 extends radially outwardly over the annularopening at :the top of the basket 24 and is spaced above the top flange34 of thesaid basket. Preferably, the trailing or bottom end Iof theWire W in the bundle `B is projected through an opening 50 in the bottomwall o-f the coil basket whereby to secureV the bundle againstundesirable rotation within the basket. While but one opening 50 isshown in the drawings, a plurality of oircumaxially spaced similaropenings are provided selectively to receive the bottom or trailing endof the wire.

The wire W is payed out of the coil basket from the top convolution inthe bundle B over the top ilange 34 of the Abasket and undertheextending peripheral por- I tion of the reel cover 46. YAs the wireleaves the reel, it is guided through a generally helical tube 52 .whichis independently supported on posts 54, 54 and whichsurrounds the reelin spaced relationship. I'he guide tube 52 is so arranged Vthat the wirein passing from one end of the tube to the other end thereof will makeapproximately a 360 turn or convolution, the top or receiving end of thetube being located adjacent the top of the basket 24, and the bottom ordischargeend of the tube being located adjacent the capstan drum 26.

Obviously, the independently supported guide tube 52 can be placed inselected positions around the reel to guide the wire onto thecapstandrum 26 from any selected rotated position. The tube ispreferably located so -that the wire will make approximately onecomplete convolution on the drum before being Ypulled olf in thedirection of the mill or other device. The provision of the capstan drumin the reel construction is lan important feature, because it is thedrum arrangement that permits the wire to be payed off freely from thebundle in the coil basket'.` That is, the tension applied to the wire inpulling it to the mill or other device is taken up on the capstan drum.This means that there is no substantial pulling force on the wirebetween the drum and the coil basket. By eliminating substantial pullingforces on the convolutions f 3 the convolutions is very much diminished.However, this does not mean that heavy tension cannot be imposed on thewire between the mill and the drum, because the said drum will take uprelatively great tension without causing any substantial force to beapplied on the wire in the bundle.

As previously mentioned, wire tension is controlled in accordance withthe present invention by electrically operable brake means disposed inthe base and operatively associated with the shaft 22. The said brakemeans comprises a pair of similar brakes 56, 56 which are arranged invertical tandem and facing each other. Each brake has an annular stator58 surrounding the shaft 22, the upper stator being ixedly supported onthe lowermost frame sleeve 16 and the lower stator being secured to thebase 10. Each brake also has a rotor or armature 60 surrounding theshaft in spaced relationship, the armatures being arranged to face eachother and being secured to a common ring or sleeve 62 which is keyed tothe shaft. A wide variation in the details of construction of the brakes56, 56 is permitted, but the construction is preferably such that thestators 58, 58 are connected in parallel in a power network land havecoils which impose fields of magnetic inuence across the respectiverotors or armatures 60, 60. Thus, by respectively increasing anddecreasing the coil energy, the attraction between the stators andarmatures is increased and decreased and the braking force is increasedand decreased. As will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the wiring diagram of Fig. 5, the network arrangement issuch that a selected braking force is applied to prevent reel rotationwhen the mill or other device is not in operation or when the wirebecomes tangled or breaks, and at all other times a varying brake forceis applied to retard reel rotation whereby to maintain substantiallyconstant wire tension. The means for establishing a selected brakingforce comprises a manually adjustable resistance and the means forcontrolling the retarding force comprises two additional resistances,one of which is manually adjustable and the other of which isautomatically varied responsive to change in the tension on the wire. Aswill now be described, changes in wire tension are reflectedin changesin the path of the wire as it is drawn from the capstan drum and betweentwo horizontally spaced apart fixedly located guide means.

The first of the said guide means comprises a pair of guide rolls 64, 64which are rotatably supported on a bracket 66 secured to the base 10 andforming a part of the frame structure. The guide rolls 64, 64 arerotatable on horizontal axes and in substantially the same verticalplane but they are spaced apart so that the wire W will either be guidedon one roll or on the other roll without any substantial verticalshifting. That is, the rolls 64, 64 are supported on the bracket 66adjacent the capstan drum 26 to receive the wire W between the rolls. Ifthe wire is pulled slightly upwardly and toward the left as viewed inFig. 1, it will be guided upon and rotate the upper roll 64, but if thewire is pulled slightly downwardly and to the left, it will be guidedupon and rotate the lower guide roll 64.

The second guide means is similar to the first and comprises a pair ofvertically spaced guide rolls 68, 68 which rotate in substantially thesame vertical plane as the irst mentioned guide rolls 64, 64. The guiderolls 68, 68 are preferably xedly located and they may be supported onthe wire mill or other wire-using device or they may be supported on anyother frame means not shown. The wire W extends from the first guidemeans comprising the rolls 64, 64 to the second guide means comprisingthe rolls 68, 68 and the direction of wire movement is from the iirstguide means to the second.

The bracket 66 supporting the guide rolls 64, 64 has a front verticalplate 70 and a rear vertical plate 72, the said guide rolls beingdisposed between the plates adjacent their upper ends. The bracket 66also pivotally supports an arm 74 between its front and rear plates, thearm being secured to a shaft 76 which extends forwardly and rearwardlyrespectively of the said front and rear plates. The said arm 74 isgenerally L-shaped and is pivoted at the intersection of its legs, therebeing one relatively long leg 78 which extends from the bracketgenerally in the direction of travel of the wire W and there being arelatively short leg which extends generally downwardly. The extendingend portion of the longer leg 78 is bifurcated and rotatably supports apair of rolls 82, 82 which are similar to the previously mentioned guiderolls. The said bifurcated end portion of the arm 74 is bent upwardly sothat one of the rolls 82, 82 will be disposed over the other in anypivoted position of the arm relative to the bracket 66. It will beobserved that the rolls 82, 82 on the end of the arm 74 are disposedbetween the rst mentioned pair of tixedly located guide rolls 64, 64 andthe second mentioned iixedly located pair of guide rolls 68, 68. Thewire W extends between the rolls 82, 82 on the pivoted arm whereby itcan be said that the extending or free end of the arm is supported insuspension by the wire W.

Obviously, the path which the wire follows in travel from the firsttixedly located guide means to the second xedly located guide means isinuenced by the weight of the arm 74 on the wire and the path is alsoinfluenced by the tension on the wire. That is, if there is relativelylittle tension on the wire as it is being pulled from the irst guidemeans to the second guide means, the weight of the arm will cause thewire to sag between the guide means. If the tension is relatively heavy,the weight of the arm 74 will have less effect and the wire will not sagas much. This also means that with an increase in tension on the Wire,the extending end of the pivoted arm 74 will be elevated, and with adecrease in tension on the wire, the extending end of the arm will drop.Thus, it can be said that the arm 74 is pivoted or rotated responsive tochange in wire tension, the arm being pivoted clockwise as viewed inFig. l with an increase in tension and counterclockwise with a decreasein tension.

In operation of the pay off reel shown there is a clockwise limit and acounterclockwise limit on movement of the arm 74 beyond which limits thearm actuates control means to stop operation of the wire mill and thereel. The operating range Vfor movement of the arm 74 is between thefull line clockwise positlon shown and the broken line counterclockwiseposition. The effective weight or force of the arm 74 on the wire W canbe adjusted to bring the arm within the operating range at a desiredwire tension by means of an air cylinder 84. That is, the cylinder 84 isof the double acting type delivering pressure selectively to extend orto retract a piston and piston rod 86. The extending end of the pistonrod Iis pivotally connected to the free end of the shorter leg 80 of thearm 74 and when it is extended under pressure it has the effect ofdecreasing the elective weight or force of the arm on the wire W. Whenthe piston rod is retracted under pressure, it has the effect ofincreasing the force of the said arm on the wire. lt should also beobserved that the air cylinder provides a pneumatic shock absorber forthe arm when the piston rod is extended under pressure by taking up theshock of the arm if it falls, as will occur if the wire breaks. When thepiston rod is retracted under pressure, and if the wire breaks, shock ofthe falling arm is absorbed in a spring biased stop 88 which is suitablysupported on the bracket 66.

During operation of the reel, pivotal movement of thc arm 74 within therange deiined is utilized to move an Velectrical conductor across aresistance, the conductor and the resistance being connected in thepower network to the Vbrake means, whereby to vary the electrical energy-to the brake means. More specically, the rear end portion of the shaft76 Which-is rotated with the arm 74 .emesse secures gear 90 whichengages a pinion 92 on the shaft 94 of a potentiometer 96. Thepotentiometer is of conventional construction and includes a resistance98 and a conductor 100 (Fig. 5) which is secured to the shaft 94 forpivotal movement across the resistance when the shaft is rotated. Thepotentiometer housing or case is mounted on arms 102, 102 secured to agear housing 104 which encloses the gear 90 and pinion 92 and which issecured to the rear wall 72 of the bracket 66.

Movement of the arm 74 beyond the defined range in either direction isyutilized to shut off the wire mill or other device and to energize thebrake means to stop rotation of the reel. More specifically, theforwardly projecting end portion of the shaft 76 mounts a block 106 towhich a pair of limit switch trips 108 and 110 are adjustably secured.In rotation of the arm 74 -in a counterclockwise direction beyond theoperating range, as will occur .if the 'wire W breaks, the shaft 76 willbe rotated counterclockwise to bring the trip 108 into engagement withan actuating arm 112 for a limit switch 114 whereby to open the limitswitch to de-energize the wire mill and to set the brake means as willbe described. If the arm 74 is rotated clockwise beyond the operatingrange, as may occur if the wire W becomes tangled in the coil basket 24and the wire tension exceeds a desirable limit, the shaft 76 will berotated to bring the trip 110 into engagement with an actuating arm 116for a limit switch 118 which 4is connected in series with the limitswitch 114 and serves a similar purpose. It should be observed that thetrips 108 and 110 can be secured in adjusted rotated positions on theblock 106 whereby to engage the limit switch arms in selected rotatedpositions of the shaft 76 and arm 74. Thus, the location of the tripsdetermines the operating rrange of pivotal movement of the arm 74. Theoperation of the limit switches and of the previously mentionedpotentiometer 96 will be more fully understood Afrom the followingdescription of the wiring diagram shown in Fig. 5.

The power network for the brake means as shown in Fig. 5 includes a pairof main conductors L1 and L2 which are connectible to a suitable sourceof alternating current energy and which are the common conductors for aplurality of parallel circuits. As shown in the diagram, the uppermostof these circuits is a signal circuit which includes a lamp 120 and anormally closed, relay operated switch 122. The control relay whichopens the switch 122 is energized only when the reel is to be rotatedand at all other times the electrically operable brake means is set toprevent rotation of the reel. Therefore, the signal circuit and thesignal lamp 120 are energized to indicate that the full brake force isapplied and the reel cannot be rotated.

The next circuit to be considered includes a push button type startswitch 124 which is biased to open position, the aforementioned controlrelay 126, a push button type stop switch 128 which is biased to closedposition, and the series connected limit switches 114 and 118. The relay126 operates all of the switches to be hereinafter designated includinga normally open interlock switch 130 which shunts the start switch 124whereby the start switch can be released after it is initially closedand the relay will remain energized until the stop switch 128 is openedor nntil either of the limit switches 114 and 118 is opened. In additionto opening the switch 122 in the signal circuit, the control relay whenenergized conditions the balance of the network to remove the fullbraking energy from the brake means and to energize the brake means Itoapply only a tension-controlling retarding :force to the reel.

The next circuit in top-to-bottom order of the wiring diagram includesonly the resistance 132. The resistance 132 is the heaviest in thenetwork and at least a portion of this resistance is included in thebrake circuit structure whenever the network is conditioned to have thebrake means apply only a retarding force to the reel. The said -brakecircuit structure includes a Vfull wave rectier 134 which is connectedat one side to the conductor L2 and at the other side it is selectivelyconnected to the conductor L1 through the heavy resistance 132 orthrough a relatively light resistance 136. The light resistance 13,6 isincluded in the brake circuit structure Whenever the network isconditioned to apply the full braking ,Kforce to the reel.

More speciiically, the resistances V132 and 136 are included -inseparate manually adjustable potentiometers in a cont-rol panel (notshown) and the potentiometers in clude the movable conductors 138 and140, respectively. The conductor 138 is connected to the said other sideof the rectifier 134 and is manually adjustable along the resistance 132to select a resistance -which determines the energy to the brake meansfor applying a retarding force to the reel whereby to control wiretension.` The conductor 140 is also connected to the said other side ofthe rectifier and is manually adjustable along the resistance 136 toselect -a resistance which Vdetermines the energy to the brake means forapplying the force necessary to prevent rotation of the reel. A normallyopen switch 142 is disposed in the conductor 138 and is closed only whenthe relay 126 is energized whereby to place the heavy selectedresistance 132 in circuit with the rectifier thereby minimizing thebrake energy to apply only a retarding force. A normally closed switch144 is disposed in the conductor 140 and is opened only when the relay126 is energized, at lall other times placing the light selectedresistance 136 in circuit with the rectifier thereby increasing thebrake energy to prevent reel rotation.

Two conductors L3 and L4 lare connected to the rectier 134 to providedirect current to the brakes 56, 56 which are connected in parallelrelationship with each other and with a` capacitance 146. The conductorL4 is directly connected to the brakes and the conductor L3 isnormallydirectly connected thereto through a 4normally closed switch148. However, when the control relay 126 is energized, a switch isclosed to energize'the potentiometer 96 between the conductors L3 and L4and the conductor L3 is connected to the brakes through thepotentiometer resistance and conductor 98 and 100. Thus, when the startswitch 124 is closed to energize the control relay 126, and thereby toclose switch 142 while opening switches 144 and 148, the selectedportion of the resistance 132 and a portion of the resistance 98 `areincluded in the power network to the brakes 5'6, 56.1 This networkcondition of relatively high resistance is reected in relatively littlebrake energy whereby the brakes merely retard rotation of the reel.However, the resistance is automatically adj-usted during reeloperation. and the brake energy altered accordingly to Vary theretarding force. That is, pivotal movement of arm 74 downwardlyresulting from decreasing wire tension moves the conductor 100counterclockwise (as viewed in Fig. 5) on the resistance 98 of thepotentiometer 96 thus decreasing the resistance to increase brake energyandthe retarding force to increase wire tension. If the arm 74 ispivoted up- -wardly by increasing tension, the conductor 100 movesclockwise on the resistance 98 to increase resistance and to reducebrake energy Iand force, thereby reducing'wire tension. Therefore, itcan be said that the power network includes control means for`automatically regulating brake force to maintain substantially constantwire tension under normal operating conditions.

When normal operating conditions do not prevail, either the limit switch114 or the limit switch 118 is automatically opened to de-energize thecontrol relay 126. Whenever the Irelay is yie-energized, the'switches130, 142 and 150 open automatically and the switches 122, 144 and 148close automatically. Thus the power network is conditioned to connectonly the relatively light resistance to the brakes for increased `brakeenergy and full braking force. As previously mentioned, the limit switch114 is opened by eounterclockwise rotation of the arm V74 beyond theoperatingmange as .-will occur if the wire breaks,

and the limit switch 118 is opened by'clockwise rotation of the said armbeyond t'ne range as will occur if the wire becomes seriously tangled inthe coil basket. Preferably, conductors L and L6 for the power circuitto the wire mill are connected on opposite ends of the series connectedlimit switches 114 and 118 whereby opening of either of the said limitswitches will stop operation of the mill as well as stop rotation of thereel. It will be obvious that when the relay is de-energized by openingof either of the limit switches or by opening of the stop switch 12S, itcannot again be energized except by closing the start switch 124. Thelimit switches are preferably of the type that are biased to closedpositions so that they do not have to be manually closed beforeenergizing the control relay.

The over-all operation of the reel should be apparent from the foregoingdescription and can 4be summarized as follows:

The wire bundle B is placed in the coil basket 24 and the reel cover 46is secured. The leading end of the Wire W is then extended through thehelical guide tube 52 and around the capstan drum 26. The wire is thenextended through the guide rolls 64, 64, through the rolls 82, 82 on theend of the potentiometer actuating arm 74, and then through the guiderolls 68, 68 to the wire mill. This completes the wire set-up andattention is then devoted to the electrical control network manyelements of which can be disposed in a panel (not shown).

The control panel adjustments comprise adjusting the manually operablepotentiometers which include the resistances 132 and 136, the resistance132 being set to control brake energy for retarding reel rotation andthe resistance 136 being set to control brake energy for stopping reelrotation. With such adjustments completed, the start switch 124 can bedepressed to condition the power circuit to permit retarded reelrotation and the wire mill can be operated to pull the wire W from the-reel under 4a substantially constant preselected tension.

The reel will be rotated by the pulling force on the wire until the stopswitch 128 is opened, or until all of the wire is pulled from the reelunless the wire breaks or becomes tangled. Upon the occurrence of eitherof the aforementioned events, the relay 126 will be de-energized and thefull selected braking force applied as previously described.

The invention claimed is:

l. In a pay oi reel for wire or the like, the combination of a frame, adrum rotatably supported on the frame, an annular basket connected withthe drum for rotation therewith and adapted to support a coiled bundleof wire, guide means for receiving and guiding wire from the basket tothe periphery of the drum for passage therearound, and means forretarding rotation of the drum and the basket when wire is pulled fromthe drum.

2. In a pay ot reel for wire or the like, the combination of a frame, adrum rotatably supported on the frame, an annular basket rotatable on acommon aXis with the drum and adapted to support a coiled bundle ofwire, a generally helical guide tube surrounding the drum and the basketfor receiving and guiding wire `from the basket to the periphery of thedrum for passage therearound, and brake means for retarding rotation ofthe drum and basket to establish tension in wire being pulled from thedrum `without establishing any substantial pulling force on the wirebetween the drum and the basket.

3. In a pay oftr reel for Wire or the like, the combination of a frame,a substantially vertical shaft rotatably supported by the frame andprojecting upwardly therefrom, a drum secured for rotation with saidshaft above the frame, an annular basket secured for rotation with saidshaft above the drum and adapted to support a coiled bundle of Wire, agenerally helical guide tube surrounding the drum and the basket inspaced relationship for receiving and guiding 'Wire from the top of thebasket to the periphery of the `drum for passage therearound, and

brake means engaging said shaft to retard rotation of the drum andbasket to establish tension in wire being pulled from the drum withoutestablishing any substantial pulling force on the wire between the drumand the basket.

4. In a pay on' reel for wire or the like, the combination of a frame, asubstantially vertical shaft rotatably supported by the frame andprojecting upwardly therefrom, a generally cylindrical drum secured tosaid shaft for rotation therewith above the frame and having an annularbasket in its upper portion comprising a bottom wall and an outer walland an inturned top ange which is spaced Afrom the -wall of the drum andalso having a cover spaced above the said top flange on the basket, thesaid basket being adapted to support a coiled bundle of wire, agenerally helical guide tube surrounding the basket in spacedrelationship for receiving and guiding wire from the top ange of thebasket to the periphery of the drum below said basket for passagetherearound, and brake means supported on said frame in engagement withsaid `shaft to retard rotation of the drum whereby to establish tensionin wire being pulled from the drum without establishing any substantialpulling force on the wire between the drum and the basket.

5. A pay off reel for wire or the like comprising in combination, aframe, means rotatably mounted on the frame for supporting a coiledbundle of wire and adapted to rotate when wire is pulled from thebundle, electrically operable brake means for selectively retardingrotation of the bundle supporting means and for preventing rotationthereof, means for controlling brake operation comprising a powernetwork connected with the brake means and including a rst manuallyadjustable resistance connectible with the brake means to control thebrake energy and force for preventing rotation of the bundle supportingmeans, a second manually adjustable resistance and a third resistance tosaid brake means having a conductor movable thereacross to vary saidthird resistance, the said second and third resistances and theconductor being connectible in circuit with said brake means to controlits energy and force for lretarding rotation of the bundle supportingmeans, means connected with the said conductor and adapted to besuspended from wire being pulled from the bundle for movement upwardlyand downwardly when wire tension respectively increases and decreaseswhereby to move the conductor, and switch means operable to selectivelyconnect said first manually adjustable resistance or said second andthird resistances and said conductor in series lto said brake means.

6. A pay off reel for wire or the like comprising in combination, aframe, means rotatably mounted on the I frame for supporting a coiledbundle of wire and adapted to rotate when wire is pulled from thebundle, electrically operable brake means for selectively retardingrotation of the bundle supporting means and for preventing rotationthereof, means for controlling brake operation comprising a powernetwork connected with the brake means and including a irst manuallyadjustable resistance connectible with the brake means to control thebrake energy and force for preventing rotation of the bundle supportingmeans, a second manually adjustable resistance and a third resistancehaving a conductor movable thereacross to vary said third resistance,the said second and third resistances and the conductor beingconnectible in circuit with said brake means to control its energy andforce for retarding rotation of the bundle supporting means, a pivotallysupported arm connected with the conductor for simultaneous pivotalmovement therewith and having a free end adapted to be supported on wirebeing pulled from the bundle for movement upwardly and downwardly whenwire tension respectively increases and decreases whereby to move theconductor, and switch means operable selectively to connect said rstmanually adjustable resistance to said brake means or said second andthird resistances and said conductor in series to said brake means,vsaid switch means being operable by `said arm in l one pivoted positionthereof to connect said first manually adjustable resistance to saidbrake means.

7. A pay oi reel for wire or the like comprising in combination, aframe, means rotatably supported on the frame for supporting a coiledbundle of wire and adapted to rotate when wire is pulled from thebundle, guide means for receiving and guiding wire pulled from thebundle, electrically operable brake means for selectively retardingrotation of the bundle supporting means and for preventing rotationthereof, means for controlling brake operation comprising a powernetwork connected with the brake means and including a resistance and anelectrical conductor connected with the brake means and movable acrossthe resistance to vary the energy to the brake means and thereby to varythe retarding force, means connected with said conductor and adapted tobe suspended from the wire being pulled from the bundle for movementupwardly and downwardly when wire tension respectively increases anddecreases whereby to move the conductor, switch means operable toelectrically disconnect said resistance and said conductor from thepower network whereby to increase the energy to the brake means forpreventing rotation of the bundle supporting means, and actuating meansfor said switch means operable by said wire suspended means atpreselected positions thereof resulting respectively from wire tensionIincrease and decrease.

8. A pay off reel for wire or the like comprising in combination aframe, means rotatably mounted on the frame for supporting a coiledbundle of wire and adapted to rotate when wire is pulled from thebundle, electrically operable brake means for selectively retardingrotation of the bundle supporting means and for preventing rotationthereof, means for controlling brake operation comprising a powernetwork connected with the .brake means and including -a resistance, apivoted electrical conductor movable across the resistance to vary theenergy to the lbrake means and thereby to vary the retarding force, apivotally supported arm connected with the conductor for simultaneouspivotal movement therewith and having a free end adapted to be supportedon wire being pulled from the bundle for movement upwardly anddownwardly when wire tension respectively increases and decreaseswhereby to pivot the conductor, switch means operable by said arm in twopivoted positions thereof responsive to wire tension increase anddecrease respectively to electrically disconnect said resistance andsaid conductor from the power network and thereby to increase the energyto the brake means for preventing rotation of the bundle supportingmeans.

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